READY FOR THE NEXT GOAL

When Chen Maofu, a villager in Yanhe County in Guizhou Province, southwest China, signed his name on a paper on October 28, it meant a sea change in his life. The paper was a poverty alleviation verification form and after signing it, the 62-year-old was officially crossed off the list of poverty-stricken people.

“We are much better off than before,” Chen told Xinhua News Agency.

Its remote location and rugged terrain, which hampered transportation, had prevented Chen’s village from developing. At the start of 2014, over 40 percent of the villagers lived below the poverty line.

But in recent years, with roads built, specialty industries emerged, such as poultry farming and chrysanthemum tea production. Farmers were connected to the outside world and could explore more ways to earn money.

Yanhe was among the last nine counties, all in Guizhou, to shed poverty, as announced by the provincial